Grai
Three days later . . .
Poppa played no games when it came to getting me and the boys packed up. He said the sooner we left to start over, the better. Without giving too much away, we’d told the boys we were moving in with Poppa. If you could see the way their little eyes lit up, you’d ask me why I hadn’t done this a long time ago. Even Solace allowed his joy to spill over into the room.
Poppa and Mama Dee came over to help me pack while the boys were in school. I wanted to be petty and remove all the furniture because I’d paid for it, but Poppa wouldn’t allow it. His exact words were,“Fuck that nigga. You’re never stooping down to his level again. Let him keep all this shit. He gon’ need it.”He looked at it all so disgustingly that I had to laugh.
Tonight was our first night staying in our new home. I could admit, Poppa had enough space for us. The boys were sharing a room now, but they didn’t seem to mind since it was under the same roof as their favorite person in the world. Mama Dee cooked a roast for dinner that was so satisfying I found myself on the couch, enjoying a glass of red wine afterward to unwind.
Poppa came down the stairs, rubbing his stomach. I studied his slow and confident strides, feeling only a deep sense ofgratitude. If it wasn’t for him holding my hand during this process, I probably would’ve dragged it out a little longer and been a complete mess. Surprisingly, my mind was in a good place, and I felt kind of relieved. I hadn’t realized how much of a dark cloud my life had become until I got from under it. I was happy to be moving forward with my boys.
We could all relax now. There would be no more nights sitting and waiting for Drey to come home so we could have dinner, no more making up lies on where he was or what he was doing that made him have no time for his sons. My love for Drey had dried up so long ago that I wasn’t even sad to be apart. None of the tears I’d shed were for our relationship. I’d mentally and emotionally checked out a long time ago.
“Wassup, big head?” he asked, coming to plop down beside me on the couch. He knocked my head to the side playfully before tossing his legs across my lap. I laughed with a shake of my head. “You good?”
I nodded. “Better than I thought I would be. And the boys are so happy; how can I not be?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, my boys are happy to be under the same roof as me. I am too. I’ll get to have more QT with them than before. It’s an adjustment for us all, but we’re going to be good.”
Poppa allowed his eyes to drift closed, and I began studying his bulging biceps. He was currently wearing a wife-beater with red Adidas joggers that made no attempt to hide his dick print. “Bubbles, stop looking at my dick,” he joked without even opening his eyes.
I picked up a pillow and whacked him across the face with it. His annoying ass burst into laughter. “You’re the one that got it all on display. Thought I was supposed to look,” I mumbled. Thinking about his dick had me thinking about how long it’d been since I was touched. Poppa was well-endowed, and just looking at him had heat rushing to all of my pressure points. Inibbled on my bottom lip, obsessing over his print and how I just knew he would stretch me to the point of no return.
I was so consumed by the fire raging through me that I didn’t notice Poppa was watching me. “You know I can handle that for you.” His voice was low, sultry, and honestly almost convinced me to straddle his lap to take what I needed. I found the courage to slowly lift my head, and we locked gazes. A chill raced down my spine when I saw the dare within the depths of his brown eyes.
“Handle what?”
He smirked, tossed his legs off my lap, and sat up. His nose was nuzzled in the crook of my neck a second later. My body went into shock, but the pleasure of his soft lips kissing my neck kept me locked in place. When he sucked my bottom earlobe into his mouth, I squirmed.
“You know what, Bubbles. Just say the word.”
My breaths came out in short spurts. I knew I should stop him before we made it to the point of no return, but if I was honest, I loved being so close to Poppa. I had fantasized what his lips felt like for longer than I could admit aloud. He was inching closer to my mouth as he began leaving a trail of kisses along my jawline.
“Lyrix, . . . we shouldn’t,” I whispered.
“Who says?” His hand slid up from the base of my neck, and he applied a little pressure that nearly depleted my resolve. “Give me a kiss, Bubbles. Just to see if you like it. If you don’t, I’ll chill, and we never have to talk about this again. But if you do, let me bring that pussy out of retirement. I know you need it.”
I shifted my head only a little, and his lips were on mine. My entire body was doused in a bliss I’d never encountered before. His kiss was deep and strategic, almost like he was waiting for this too. His free hand went to my hair before massaging myscalp. I didn’t mean to do it, but I moaned, . . . like really loud, and the rumble of Poppa’s laughter snapped me back to reality.
“You could have any woman you want, so why are you in here, kissing me?” I asked breathlessly.
Poppa lay back cooly, like he was unfazed by what we’d just done. I was fresh from a break-up and supposed to be focused on getting my life together, not nearly falling victim to my best friend’s charm.
“Entertaining other women when I know who I want is basically a waste of energy. I want that good shit. I want pussy that’s gon’ have me keyed up like I snorted a line.” Something about the look in his eyes felt like the end of that sentence was as if that was the type of pussy I had. He knew exactly how to get on my damn nerves. I shot up when I heard thumping from upstairs. “Where ya going?” he teased.
“Far away from you, pussy junkie.” I should’ve known he wouldn’t stay on the couch. He hopped up and followed right behind me as I went up the stairs to check on the boys.
By now, they should’ve both showered and been getting ready for bed. I stood in the doorway, watching Shiloh do his nightly kung fu routine, while Ace sat on his bed, listening to music on his phone. I walked deeper into the room with Poppa on my tail.
“Cut it out, Shiloh,” I chastised my son. He knew better than to be making all that noise. We had already had a talk about how his room was upstairs now, and all that karate was going to have him coming through the floor and disturbing the people below.
Poppa nudged me out of the way. “He straight. Let lil’ man practice his moves. Let me see what you gon’ do to Broccoli Head when you catch her tonight,” Poppa encouraged him.
I shook my head, then made my way over to sit at the end of Solace’s bed. He surprised me when he lay his head on my lap. My eyes shot up to Poppa, who simply winked. Warmth seepedfrom my pores and filled the room with my joy. Ace liked to keep a clean cut like Poppa and had silky waves just like him. I began to brush them in one direction, which helped me fully saturate myself in the moment.
“Broccoli Head?” I finally questioned the name Poppa had used with a frown.
Shiloh slapped his hand over his mouth, snickering. Poppa fell backward on Loh’s bed, hooting and hollering like I’d said the funniest thing in the world. Even Ace chuckled a little, and that was when I realized it was an inside joke that I’d been left on the outskirts of. A part of me started to feel like they were talking about me when I remembered Loh told me he had beef with me the other night.
